DNC Statement on the 60th Anniversary of Rosa Parks’ Arrest

DNC Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman released the following statement today in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the arrest of Rosa Parks:

“Sixty years ago this evening, Rosa Parks paid her fare, boarded a Montgomery municipal bus, and took a seat for the ride home from work. After refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger, she was arrested and booked for violating Montgomery’s municipal ordinance segregating bus passengers according to race."

“The ensuing Montgomery Bus Boycott not only led to the desegregation of Montgomery’s bus system, but also served as the catalyst for a decade in which young African-American citizens came together to demand rights that for too long had been denied. Their efforts were realized in part by the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that ensured the voting rights guaranteed by the 13th, 14th, 15th and 19th Amendments would be protected and enforced.

“Parks and the Civil Rights generation fought for the fundamental principle that everyone in America deserves equal representation. 60 years later, we must still defend that principle. One week from today the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Evenwel v. Abbott. This case threatens to take representation away from millions of people living in this country simply because they are ineligible to vote, including leaving children and minors under eighteen with no state-level representation.” The very people Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr., Congressman John Lewis and countless other Americans fought so hard to uplift, would suffer the most if Sue Evenwel has her way: African-Americans, Hispanics, and our most vulnerable citizens – our children – could be left invisible for purposes of political representation.

“So as we mark the anniversary of Rosa Parks’ brave stand, we must focus on the work ahead of us. In our republic, every single person deserves a voice. Evenwel threatens that fundamental understanding. The Democratic Party will continue to work diligently across the country to shed light on such egregious attacks on our democracy.”